delhi-hc-seeks-nia-reply-on-engineer-rashid-s-plea

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought a response from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea by Baramulla MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, challenging charges framed against him in a terror funding case.

 

A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Shalinder Kaur issued a notice to the NIA on the MP’s plea and granted time to the agency to file its response.

The High Court also asked for the trial court record in the matter and listed the plea for further hearing on October 6.

 

Besides the current plea, another related petition is also pending before the High Court. Earlier, the court had issued a notice to the NIA seeking an explanation for the delay of around 1,100 days in filing the plea challenging the framing of charges.

 

The division bench, while hearing the plea, was of the view that these two separate pleas be heard by the same bench that had previously dealt with a similar plea filed by Rashid during the Budget session.

 

The court also said that the pleas must be listed before the bench comprising Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, subject to the orders of the division bench.

 

On March 25, a bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup Jairam Bhambhani had directed Rashid to pay ₹4 lakh to the prison authorities as travel expenses for taking him to Parliament for the Budget Session “in custody”.

 

Rashid has been lodged in Tihar Jail following an investigation that revealed his alleged ties with terror organisations.

 

In his appeal, Engineer Rashid stated that he has already spent over five years in jail due to delays in the trial, which is unlikely to conclude soon.

 

The appeal further stated, “Rashid, being a passionate politician, was scapegoated by anti-national forces and separatist voices who wanted to silence him for his bold stance on certain matters.”

 

However, Rashid was chargesheeted in October 2019, and a special NIA court framed charges against him and others in March 2022 under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the government), and 124A (sedition) of the IPC and for offences relating to terrorist acts and terror funding under the UAPA.